General Convention, The DFMS, and the Primate
The Archives of the Episcopal Church is the official repository for
records of the Church’s General Convention, its committees, boards and
agencies, and the corporate body of the national Church, the Domestic
and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
the United States of America. Included in these umbrella bodies are the
various program and administrative offices of the Episcopal Church
Center in New York City. The official papers of the Primate and the
Office of the Presiding Bishop are also located in the Archives.
Official records are open after 30 years except closed personnel and
personal records.

Canonical Commissions, Committees, Agencies, and Boards
The gathered Church operates between triennial meetings of the General
Convention through canonical entities that have an official mandate to
prepare the Church for new initiatives in the area of mission, mission
support, ministry and governance. The proceedings of these agencies are
open to research. The following official bodes of General Convention have
deposited records with the Archives:

Session Records of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church

The Executive Council

The Court for the Trial of a Bishop
The Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop

Standing Commission on Anglican and International Peace with Justice Concerns
Standing Commission on Constitution and Canons
Standing Commission on Domestic Mission and Evangelism
Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations
Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music
Standing Commission on Ministry Development
Standing Commission on National Concerns
Standing Commission for Small Congregations
Standing Commission on Stewardship and Development
Standing Commission on the Structure of the Church
Standing Commission on World Mission

The Board of the Archives of the Episcopal Church
The Board for Church Deployment
Episcopal Relief and Development
Forward Movement Publications
The General Board of Examining Chaplains

Affiliated Episcopal Church Organizations
The Archives documents the diversity of organizational life in the
Church. These archives include not only historical entities, but also
many active organizations that work with the Archives to preserve their
institutional memory. Among the affiliated organizations that have
recently designated The Archives of the Episcopal Church as their
records and research repository are:

Assembly of Episcopal Hospitals and Chaplains
Associated Parishes
Association of Anglican Musicians
Association of Diocesan Liturgy and Music Commissions
Board of Foreign Parishes
Brotherhood of St. Andrew
Church Army
Church Periodical Club
Conference on the Religious Life
Episcopal Appalachian Ministries
Episcopal Awareness Center on Handicaps
Episcopal Church Women of Province IV
Episcopal Church Women of Province VII
Episcopal Conference of the Deaf
Episcopal Partnership for Global Mission
Episcopal Society for Ministry on Aging
Episcopal Society for Ministry in Higher Education
Episcopal Women's Caucus
Evangelical Education Society
The Girls' Friendly Society
The Guild of the Scholars of the Episcopal Church
Historical Society of the Episcopal Church
Integrity, IncThe Living Church
National AIDS Memorial
National Altar Guild
National Episcopal AIDS Coalition
National Episcopal Historians and Archivists
National Network of Lay Professionals
North American Association for the Diaconate
Order of the Holy Cross
Order of Julian of Norwich
Southwestern Network for Women's MinistriesThe Witness (Episcopal Church Publishing Company)

Historical Organizations
The Archives is the repository for records on a host of local and
national Church organizations. Many of these organizations have ceased
to exist or their ministries have been assumed by other groups. The
following list is a sample of recent acquisitions of some substance
about notable organizations no longer in existence.

Cathedral Films, Inc.
Catholic Fellowship
Church and City Conference
Church Society for College Work
Church Association for the Advancement of the Interests of Labor (CAIL)
Coalition 14
Confraternity of Unity Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity (ESCRU)
Episcopal Women's Action (Diocese of Massachusetts)
Instituto Pastoral Hispano
International Order of St. Luke
National Steering Committee for Dialogue on Human Sexuality
North American Association for the Diaconate
North Conway Institute, Inc.
St. Margaret's House, Berkeley, CA
Seabury Press Publications and Archives
Seminary of the Caribbean
Spanish Hymnal Ecumenical Committee

Personal Papers
The Archives documents the lives of those who model Christian ministry
and those whose work contributes to an understanding of the Episcopal
Church’s polity and practice, of Anglican theology and worship, and of
the historical basis upon which the faith community rests. Among the
holdings of private papers recently acquired, in whole or part, and
open to researchers are the following collections of personal papers.

Special Collections
In order to follow its mandate to document the historical dimension of
the Episcopal Church, the Archives collects records that fall outside
the archival bond with personal or organizational donors. These special
collections are centered around printed records that have been
distributed as part of the Church’s engagement in the public forum or
published as part of its institutional dialogue. A sample of these
special collections follows.

Archives Biographical Files
Christian Education Curricula Collection
Diocesan and Parish History CollectionDiocesan Newspaper Collection
Diocese of Connecticut Pamphlet Collection
Documents in Print - Episcopal Church Publications
Episcopal Journals and Serial PublicationsEpiscopal Life
Forward Movement Publications and Archives
Journals of Diocesan Conventions and Councils
Pamphlet Collection
Prayer Book and Liturgy Collection
Publications of Church Publishing Inc.
Reports and Proceedings, the Anglican Consultative Council
Reports and Proceedings, the Lambeth Conferences The Spirit of Missions
Studies and Reports of The Episcopal Church